Pakistan's Malala Yousafzai has won the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

Parliament President Martin Schulz called the 16-year-old a "brave advocate for education" who "reminds us of our duty toward children and especially girls." The prize is worth about $67,000.

Malala's activism started after the Taliban banned girls from schools in Pakistan's Swat Valley in 2009. She anonymously blogged for the BBC in opposition to that order, and became an open advocate for girls' education.

In 2011, Malala told CNN, "I have the right of education. I have the right to play. I have the right to sing. I have the right to talk."